How To Motivate Yourself To Stay Fit & Healthy*

Although everyone knows that staying healthy is a good thing to do, actually making the effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long-term can be really tough. Especially now that the colder weather is setting in and the last thing you want to do is eat salad or go running in the dark!

Staying motivated is key to sticking to your healthy lifestyle but how do you do it?! Keep reading to see the different methods you can try.

Use Technology

There are so many really good apps for smartphones, or gadgets you can use that will help you keep on top of your diet and exercise. MyFitnessPal is great because it can link to your phone step counter and takes this off your calorie allowance. Now that technology is so advanced, a lot of apps let you scan the barcode of an item and can record the nutritional value of it. This is so useful as even just recording what you are eating reminds you to be healthier. Other gadgets such as Fitbit use wearable technology to keep you fit and active, so there’s no escaping it!

Buddy Up

This can be the most important way to keeping you going, either by going through it with a friend, friends or joining a group. This could be at your gym or a local running class where the social pressure to attend is really motivational. You could even pay for a set number of classes in advance to encourage you to go.

If you live with other people it can be a really good idea to get them involved too. You could try taking it turns to cook a healthy meal so that you won’t get tired of cooking and be tempted to get a take away, while the social element distracts from it being boring! The chap and I often plan healthy meals in advanced so we’re not caught up in decisions after a gym session.

Have a Goal

This can be a weight-loss goal or even an event, anything that gives you a deadline to stick to. I have signed up to different marathons and colour runs which gave me a really good reason to exercise, train and watch what I am eating. There are also other charity sports events that you can try, from cycling, running, swimming and all sorts of fundraisers. Having the pressure of wanting to do well for a reason other than yourself makes training so much easier, as you don’t want to let the people who have sponsored you down!

Don’t Give Up!

Everyone gets off days but I find that even when I really don’t want to exercise, by the time I force myself just to walk into the gym, I become more motivated. It’s easy to persuade yourself to run for 5 minutes, and when 5 minutes is up chances are you will want to do more! A really good way to motivate yourself is just to do it, even if it’s only a little bit so you keep in the routine.

But Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself

At the same time, working really hard every day can be more damaging than not being healthy at all! Having rest days are so important to make progress with your fitness, and no matter how healthy you’re eating, variety is key to a balanced diet! A treat now and then will keep you going for longer than a huge junk food binge when you lose sight of your end goal.

So, while staying motivated can be a struggle, making little but permanent changes to your lifestyle is a great way to remove the intimidation of a ‘healthy lifestyle’. Whether it is through the aid of apps and reminders, the pressure of an event deadline, or just that amazing feeling you get when you achieve your goal, find what drives you and keep doing it!

If you want some more help staying motivated to keep healthy, read my 4 Ways To Improve Overall Fitness tips, it can be as simple as taking the stairs or walking to the gym!